The Next Ride.........
Part 1
The following day the weather was again bright and beautiful here but there was still too much water to ride at the park so I again decided to work my Arabian horses here in the yard. This the geldings were out in the field behind the house and they were having a rip snorting good time playing in the creek and running through the trees. There was lots of commotion to push Storm's buttons.
At first the red horse didn't know what to think of all the splashing and cavorting and tag team athletics going on while he was stuck tied to the horse trailer. I thought it was going to be another day "careful" grooming and tacking up to avoid getting stomped on by my inattentive horse. Storm, however, turned his attention to me as soon as I put a brush to his coat and stood there enjoying his grooming session.
The only time the horse really reacted was when a loud crack erupted from the trees. The geldings squirted in all direction out from the trees looking like mischievous boys fleeing the scene of their crime. I can only assume the broken branch I heard had something to do with some kind of boyish plan.
Looking at the expression on Storm's face, I'm pretty sure he was thinking the same thing. The horse settled the moment the geldings emerged from the trees and there was no sign that Storm was anything but content to continue on with grooming.
Once the horse was tacked up and ready to go to work, I followed the same routine as the day before. First off there was a short lunging session where I bited the horse up. There was no animated resistance, only a compliant horse so the session was short and we went on to the riding part.
Again, the horse was resistant about standing next to the picnic table/mounting block. I let him know I was serious about not putting up with any of his shenanigans with one quick smack on his off side with my bat. The horse gave a big sigh and moved right up to the table and stood quietly for me.
The puddles had shrunk over night but I still took him over to give them a try. Other than a sideways look on his way through, there was no resistance at all from the horse. I figured the true test would be the smaller puddle up by the barn but I got the same kind of response from the horse there so I went ahead working the horse up and down the lane.
Storm worked hard and was a good boy. We even worked on the lope and there was no foolishness at all which is exactly what I expected of him. I know I've not seen the last of his red headed attitude but at least for now, it's all good. The horse has the message at least in these circumstances that I am the boss. We'll have to wait to see what our next test will be.
To be continued...................
The Wendy Potts & Storm
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yaaa, sounds like he is starting to believe you are consistant about being the boss, may not take as long to get him back to where he was before!
ReplyDeleteSometimes when you expect the worse you get the opposite. I consider that a pleasant surprise and am grateful I was wrong.Glad you had a good ride even with the geldings making a ruckus in the trees. Nice that they were enjoying themselves but it can be unnerving to the horse that's working, Storm was really a good boy.
ReplyDeleteSounds like he is really trying hard, but has some issues to overcome. I think that horse really wants to give his "heart" to someone with whom he would feel safe and secure. He is a "pleaser". If he pleases you, he is pleased, he finds that rewarding. Or maybe I'm just reading between the lines as to what I'D like to believe.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, sounds like ya'll are making progress - he is a beautiful boy!